Dr. Pat Chow-fraser

What is the overall goal of your research program?

My students conduct research on the ecology and conservation of fish and wildlife, including at-risk species, living in coastal wetlands and associated streams of the Laurentian Great Lakes. We use remote sensing and GIS techniques, radio telemetry, trophic-level manipulations to predict the effect of water level, impact of invasive species, and human disturbance on the quality and quantity of marsh habitat in the Great Lakes coastal zone.

What would be one of your research highlights?
Past studies have supported the restoration and management of wetlands in several Areas of Concern in Canada, including Cootes Paradise Marsh (Hamilton) and Frenchman’s Bay in Lake Ontario (Pickering), the Dunnville Marsh and wetlands of Point Pelee in Lake Erie. Dr. Chow-Fraser ed the development of several ecological indicators that use periphyton, zooplankton, aquatic macrophytes, turtles and fish as well as environmental parameters such as road density, basin morphology, water quality and land uses to assess the ecological status of streams and coastal wetlands.